New Beginnings- A Jily Fanfic
by extroextraredhead
Summary: He loved her. Yes, love. Everything from her flaming hair, to her emerald eyes, to her freckled nose, to how she'd burst out laughing and down to her socks, which would always have to be matching. But why didn't she love him back?
1. Chapter 1

_Hi lovelies! This is my first time posting on this site so I'm really sorry if the layout and stuff is messed up, I'm trying to make my way around here! I do not own any of these characters but I'd gladly borrow James Potter anytime :). I hope y'all like this story! (This is set in the Marauders era, 6th year)_

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Lily Evans sat on her bed cross legged, fiddling with one of the ties of the green hoodie she wore, staring into space. A loud knock jolted her from her daydream. She leapt up, off her bed, padded across her room and opened the door. Petunia Evans was standing in front of her in a dark blazer and pants looking oddly business like for an 18 year old girl. "Mum says you're to go downstairs to greet the Helins. And please _try_ to look presentable and not like you've just woken up." She said this last sentence as if Lily was a wet dog that has just shook itself dry in front of her. She turned dramatically and click-clacked down the stairs in a pair of modest flats. Lily sighed and closed the door. She rummaged around in her closet and threw on a pair of jeans, combed her hair and tied it up in a neat ponytail.

She set downstairs and upon her arrival into the hall she saw her parents, Petunia and her mother's swedish friends (a lovely couple with a 3 year old daughter named Monika) that had come to stay for the remaining part of the summer. A tall blonde woman and man were stood holding the hands of a little girl who looked an exact replica of the woman holding her right hand. Her parents stood with their backs facing Lily, in conversation with the guests. "Monika!" Lily said, her parents and Petunia's head turned while the Helin's eyes flicked up. Everyone's faces broke into smiles as they caught sight of her, everyone's except Petunia's. Lily's heart dropped as she noticed this. The little girl threw herself onto Lily, embracing her friend tightly as she giggled. Lily felt happy that she remembered her. Petunia's face scowled, telling Lily that the little girl hadn't had the same reaction upon seeing her. Monika's mum pried her away from Lily. "Sorry about that darling, she hasn't seen you in very long." She smiled, flashing two rows of pearly whites as she hugged Lily. Lily inwardly agreed with this. The blond man exclaimed jokingly. "Why am I not included with all the hugs?" Everyone laughed and Lily went and gave the man a hug. "So Kaisla, you were telling me what you were planning on doing on your stay here?" Lily's mum said. The conversation lead onto discussing plans for an upcoming fair.

Lily's dad exclaimed "Oh! Lily darling, you won't be able to go because you'll be at Hogwarts when the carnival comes to town!" Petunia's head snapped up at the mention of the school. "Oh it's fine, don't let me ruin your fun." Lily said heartily, steadily avoiding Petunia's glare.

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"That was a wonderful dinner, darling." Lily's dad said, setting his fork down. Lily smiled, her parent's relationship was very sweet. Everyone murmured words of agreement. "Well, does everyone have room for dessert? I made apple pie." Lily's mum said to groans. She chuckled and served everyone up with slices of her apple pie with whipped cream (extra for Monika in her high chair). Petunia excused herself, muttering something about catching up on some reading. Lily stared after her, Petunia never stayed for dessert.

When they all finished, they went into the living room and sat around talking about how Mrs Evans had made the dinner. Lily sat on the carpet with Monika, playing with building blocks.

Lily felt a burst of happiness every time Monika let out a laugh. She watched the toddler's toothy grin grow wider as the tower of blocks they were building grew higher. "So Lily, how is Hogwarts going for you? I hear you're a Prefect?" Mr Helin said. The Helins were wizards, unlike Lily's parents. "Hogwarts is going great Mr Helin, thanks for asking." He smiled at the response and went back to conversation with the other adults. The new topic had brought a new happiness into her, she would be going back to Hogwarts in 3 days. She would get to see all of her friends and not have to stress about O. anymore, except her results of course. She wondered how Alice and Marlene were, she had stayed in touch with her best friends over the summer but due to her sister's hate for owls going to and fro from their house, Lily had to promise that she would reduce the amount of all of the communication. Lily wished that she wasn't always controlled by Petunia, but because of her strong love for her sister, she couldn't do anything to unsettle her. There were also other people she was apprehensive about seeing, one of these people was Severus Snape. She had tried to avoid thinking about him and running into him (as they lived in the same neighbourhood) due to the things that had happened in the previous school year. She has heard various rumours that Sev- Snape had fancied her, but this didn't change anything. Another person would be James Potter, this case was less apprehension but more of the fact that she plainly didn't want to see him. He was arrogant, egotistical and obnoxious. She didn't exactly hate him, he was more of a friend to her than Snape was in fact. "Eely? Eely?" Lily jolted once more out of her deep thought as Monika patted her face as if waking her up from something. Lily shook her head, she didn't have time to waste thinking about James Potter.

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Lily stood in Diagon Alley alone as her parents went to spend time with the Helins and Petunia after dropping her off in front of the Leaky Cauldron. They had arranged to meet up at 4pm inside the Leaky Cauldron, it was 12pm. She set off to Madam Malkin's because it was the first place on her list. She didn't really need new robes but she was hoping to find someone from school that was willing to shop with her. She walked into the store and was hit with the smell of Madam Malkin's perfume. She was pretending to be interested in some button samples when she caught right of Remus Lupin. She straightened up and tapped his shoulder. He turned around quickly, she saw his face light up as he saw her. "Lily! Long time no see!" Remus was one of the Marauders she could actually stand, because he was a Prefect and he didn't care about how cool he was. "Good to see you Remus, I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me in shopping?" Lily asked.

Remus smiled "I'd love to, but only if we're going to be book shopping at some point." Lily laughed. "I also promised to meet up with James and Sirius at the Leaky Cauldron at 3, if that's okay with you? I know you don't really like them but it could be worth a shot going." he tailed off nervously, trying to read Lily's guarded expression without much success. "Don't worry about my little rift with James, I'll be fine." Lily didn't really feel fine but like Remus said, it could be worth a shot going. And with that, they set off to do their shopping.

XXX

At 2:55 Lily and Remus were making their way to the Leaky Cauldron as promised.

Lily was finding Remus' company very nice, as she got to talk to him about books and different authors. He was chuckling at one of her literary jokes when they walked into the joint. James and Sirius were sitting on barstools and perked up when they saw Remus and Lily. Sirius looked extremely tired, his hair was in a loose bun and he was wearing a sweatshirt that looked as if it hadn't been changed in a week, he was also wearing a pair of ratty sweatpants he wouldn't be caught dead in. Remus sat himself down next to Sirius so Lily had no choice but to sit next to James. She wasn't thrilled by this prospect but she found that she didn't mind as much as she thought she would. "What have you two budding nerds got up to?" James said rhetorically. Lily rolled her eyes while Remus chuckled. The barman came over and asked them for their orders. "Four Firewhiskies, mate." Sirius said, offhandedly. Remus gave Sirius a look and said to the landlord of the Leaky Cauldron "Four butterbeers, thanks." He slid a few coins to him and turned to Sirius. "What? I'm a sixth year, I should be able to have a Firewhiskey." Sirius said indignantly. Remus shook his head and sighed. Lily stifled a giggle. "Anyways, Moony, did I tell you I was made Captain for the team?" James said, accepting one of the bottles of Butterbeer and jerking his chin at Tom, as if to thank him. Lily took hers with a little more grace, actually saying "thank you" which got a small smile from the landlord. "Well, I mean you were kind of set to have the position, weren't you? What with Smith leaving and all." Remus said, uncorking his drink and taking a swig. James grinned "You flatter me, Moony.". Lily inwardly rolled her eyes.

"So Evans, what'd you get up to this summer?" James asked Lily with seemingly genuine interest. She was taken aback by this change of behaviour. "Not anything interesting really, and you?" She said, cautiously eyeing him.

"Ditto, and don't worry. I'm not going to ask you out now or anything, Evans." James said leaning back and running his hand through his hair and yawning.

James Potter always had a way of looking messy, but not too messy. His hair was always in a state that most boys tried their hardest to achieve, but he had this knack of it coming effortlessly. Everything about James Potter's appearance was effortless, and this is what Lily Evans annoyed. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. "Tired?" Lily asked, on the same genuine level as James was at. "Just a little bit, Sirius and I pulled an all-nighter. Actually we're planning on doing it tonight too." James said, smiling. Lily's eyebrows knitted together. An all-nighter? It wouldn't be smart, since school was starting tomorrow. "Don't worry, it's a tradition. We'll be fine." He said, reassuring her. She felt a little more relaxed. They settled into normal conversation about whether or not Dumbledore would dye his beard pink.

At 4:05 Lily checked her watch, jumping at the time. "Bloody hell, Okay you lot. I'm heading out now, my parents are picking me up. See you on the train tomorrow!" She leapt off of her seat and ran outside as the 3 others chorused their goodbyes.


	2. Chapter 2

_Guys I'm so sorry, some of the things got messed up in the previous chapter. I'm trying to figure out what it was, it may have been because I copied and pasted from a Google Doc? I'm not sure. They're only minor things like spelling, grammar etc. and example would be that it says "O." instead of "O. ". If any of y'all know why this is, please contact me! I hope you're enjoying it so far!_

"James, Sirius come downstairs right now! Sodding hell, these boys!" Euphemia Potter yelled, exasperated. "Calm down, sweetheart. they'll be down in a moment." Fleamont Potter replied flicking to the next page on his newspaper. They were coming down the stairs just as he said this. His mum gave them a huff and pointed at a shoelace that was on the kitchen table. "Oh mum, why do we still have to use a Portkey? I'm 16, for Merlin's sa-"

"James Fleamont Potter, put your finger to this shoelace now. And you Sirius, Fleamont." The whole Potter family, Sirius and their trunks were transported to Platform 9 ¾ in a silver light.

White smoke was billowing out of the scarlet train. Students and families were milling about, greeting and saying goodbye. James gave his fuming mother, who bore resemblance to the train, a kiss on the cheek and a hug to his father. He clambered onto the train with Sirius and waved to them. He walked down the hall, spotting a piece of parchment with the scribbled words "PREFECTS,QUIDDITCH CAPTAINS & HEAD B&G" Sirius turned to him and grinned "This is where we part, mate" James opened his mouth to offer him to sit with them.

"I'll object, besides I'll find some company fairly easily" Sirius said, eyeing a group of pretty 3rd years who were climbing into a compartment a few doors down.

James slid open the door and plonked his trunk onto the luggage rack and. He observed the compartment, it was empty. James sat down and took a pen out of his pocket and started to draw on his wrist. The door slid open again and James looked up to see who it was. It was Lily. "Evans." he said in greeting. "When will you ever learn my name?" She said, trying to heave her trunk onto the overhead rack without much success. "Here, let me give you a hand." James said, standing up and helping her. The weight of the trunk made her stumble sideways, but James caught her waist before she could fall. James felt his heart skip several beats as he looked down, into her eyes. The compartment door opened once more as Remus walked in. The pair broke apart quickly and James could feel his face burning. They all settled down, Remus sat across from him, and Lily was sat next to him because Remus had propped his feet up over the unoccupied seats next to him. James' heart was still beating fast as he imagined her emerald eyes gazing up into his. Had it really happened? He had gotten so close to Lily Evans without her slapping him. He deserved an award. While other Prefects, Captains and Heads had filtered in, the train started moving.

Grassy fields flashed by, the sky growing darker. Everyone in the compartment had gotten sleepy from the food they had gotten from the witch at the trolley. James fell asleep briefly, when he awoke he found Lily's head resting on his shoulders, she was sleeping. He didn't know if she had meant to use him as a pillow or if her head just found the most solid thing in it's sleep for support, but he didn't really mind.

Half an hour later people were waking up as they approached Hogwarts. James felt the weight of Lily's head be lifted as she woke up. She rubbed her eyes and looked to her left, at James. "Oh goodness, I hadn't realized I'd slept on your shoulder. Sorry James." She said, looking mortified. James didn't know if this was because she had slept on his shoulder or that it was his shoulder. Everyone was changing into their robes. James tried not to look as Lily took off her jumper and a sliver of her pale midriff could be seen from where her grey shirt had ridden up. He felt his cheeks go hot again and he busied himself with shoving his own robes on.

They all departed the train, the Prefects going one way to greet the First-Years and the others going towards the carriages.

They arrived at Hogwarts and set into the Great Hall in a jostling mass of black cloaks and pointed hats. James and Sirius sat across from Remus and Peter, James glanced down the Gryffindor table, searching for Lily. He spotted her sitting with Alice Fortescue and Marlene McKinnon, he felt dismayed that she hadn't chose to sit closer but made a mental note to strike up conversation when passing later on.

Dumbledore made his normal speech after the First Years had been sorted. While the food started appearing on the plates Sirius turned to the 3 other Marauders and said in a low tone, "Listen up mates, we're sixth years now. We should have rights in our common room, and I was thinking that we should have a welcome back party for our fellow housemates tomorrow night, how does that sound. Are you tossers in?" Remus raised his eyebrow over the book he was reading, Peter glanced at all the Marauders in turn with his big, watery eyes before coming to a decision and nodding vigorously while James said "You bet.". Of course James would be part of whatever Sirius was planning, as long as he didn't have to embarrass himself. Sirius took all of these reactions as a green light and started muttering an invitation to Frank Longbottom, who sat on his other side. In no time at all, the word had spread over the table that the 4 Marauders would be holding a party the following night. People were coming up to them as the exited the hall later on up to the dorms, saying that they couldn't wait for it. Even 7th years that James had never spoken to seemed to suddenly be on friendly terms with him.

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Lily Evans had been on her 2nd slice of pot pie when she found out about the party from some giggling 4th years who sat across from her. A welcome party? Hosted by the 4 troublemakers of her year? She knew it wasn't going to be the type of party where they would have pin the tail on the donkey. "How does that sound Lils? A party tomorrow night? I mean, we _do_ deserve it. What with our stressful O. last year?" Marlene said to her, pleadingly. Alice gave her a look that said that she agreed. She wasn't really in a place to say no. Besides, it might not even be that bad. James Potter seemed to have changed over the course of 2 a deep breath and smiling she said "Why not, I worked hard last year. I should deserve this, in fact we _all_ deserve this.". Both Alice and Marlene's faces broke into big smiles as they heard this and starting jabbering on about it. She didn't exactly feel great about her decision but she sucked it up and finished her pot pie.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hi lovelies! I hope I'll be posting more now that I'm on winter break! I also posted this on Wattpad (my username is extroredhead13) so I could see on which it was more popular, so when I know this I'll be discontinuing the story on the least popular on, if that makes sense? I hope you enjoy this chapter! xx_

Lily watched Marlene, bemused while her friend was trying to figure out what to wear for the party that was to be held that night. "Marls, you don't need to wear a dress. I'll bet that no one will be putting this much effort into their outfit." She said as her best friend tried on her 5th dress. "Blooming heck, what in the name of Merlin happened?" Alice had just walked into the girl's dorms and had surveyed the mess that was sprawled all over the room. "Just trying on clothes for the party." Marlene said dismissively. Alice shook her head and sighed.

"Here, let me help you. Now all you need is a shirt and jeans, and do not wear a ratty old pair. Just try and look nice, but not too nice." `

In no time at all, they were going downstairs into the common room.

The room was already packed with Gryffindors. Someone had charmed a muggle disco ball to the ceiling and also made it flash different colours so that separate lights weren't needed, and a refreshment table stood on one side of the room. "They've really gone all out haven't they? Wait, Lily what's that shining ball?" Alice asked. Lily burst out laughing and explained to her that muggles loved dancing to shiny things and music. Lily, Marlene and Alice walked down the stairs and joined Remus and Peter who were standing close to the fireplace (after pushing through a throng of people).

They were all chatting when Sirius and James joined them. "Aye up lasses, Moony, Wormtail." James said jauntily while Sirius eyed Marlene up and down hungrily (due to her tight cotton crop top) "How do you like the muggle decor we got our hands on? Up to your non magic standards Evans?" he said this last sentence jokingly, so Lily gave him a friendly punch and said "I've seen better, but not bad for the Marauders I'd say. So well done." He cracked a wide grin at this and chuckled. She noticed several dimples showed up when he smiled, the contrast of his pearly white teeth to his light bronze skin and how his eyes crinkled at the edges. She mentally shook her head and reminded herself that it was _James Potter._ But she couldn't help herself sneaking glances at him every few moments as he chatted animatedly to Sirius.

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"So, will you all be coming to the match this weekend? We're playing Ravenclaw for the opening game." James said and everyone chorused their "yes's" James smiled "Good, we'll need supporters." He looked directly at Lily when he said this, she felt heat creeping up to her cheeks as she looked down at the carpet, having suddenly taken a fancy to the intricate patterns on the battered piece of material.

Half an hour later they were all sitting on the couches and armchairs around the fire. They were laughing at one of Sirius' stories about his terrible house elf crooning over his mother. "Oh Sirius, that's bloody brilliant!" Marlene said through her laughter. When they all managed to contain their laughter Remus said "I think I'm going up to bed now, there's a Prefect meeting tomorrow and I don't want to look groggy." and Peter went scurrying up with him, saying that he had to inform his parents that he had arrived at Hogwarts safely. Alice and Frank had gone off somewhere together, muttering some excuse that sounded like they were getting more Butterbeer from the kitchens. "Say, Marlene? Would you like to go on a walk on the grounds with me?" Sirius said coyly to Marlene, the pair wouldn't stop subtly flirting with each other the whole night. Marlene giggled "Sure I will. Lils I'll be late to bed!" They went out, Marlene still giggling. When the portrait door closed Lily realised that there was no one else left in the common room. No one except James Potter, who was sitting on the other end of the couch that she sat on. He seemed to have noticed this too because he smirked and his hand reached into his hair almost as if it had just been cast with a levitation charm. Lily smiled at this thought.

"You have a pretty smile." He said this, making her jump.

"Sorry?" She had heard what he said but wanted to make sure she wasn't dreaming, not that she'd be dreaming about Potter, of _course._ "You heard me." He said, the smile tugging at his lips again. "It's nice. It makes your-uhm- nevermind." He caught himself before Lily could hear what her smile made. His tan cheeks were tinted with a dusty pink now. Was _the_ James Potter getting flustered? Lily's curiosity was peaked as this thought occurred, so she pressed on "Yes? It makes my…?" She said slyly, trying to read his expression that hadn't changed. What was it? He was looking at her intently, his hazel eyes serious. He had regained composure again, now this was the Potter she knew. "It just makes you look incredibly happy. It's...nice." She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that he wasn't initially going to say "nice" but she ignored this feeling.

"Thank you."

"It was my pleasure Ms. Evans."

What was she doing? She was having a civil conversation with James Potter once again. But he had been trying to flirt, trying to get to her. He was trying to win her over, to look good to his friends. But this couldn't be true, he seemed so genuine, so unlike the James she knew. That had to mean something.

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A frown was etched on her face, which made James watch her in fascination, taking in every single detail of her features. He had moved closer to her without her noticing, so now they were sitting an inch away from each other, their knees almost touching. What was she thinking? "Evans?" He said softly, knowing that people hated being interrupted while they were deep in thought. "Hm?" Lily said, jolting out of her daydream. "Ah, nevermind. Just wanted to know what you were thinking about." He said, ending this sentence with a yawn and stretching back. "How was staying up? Pulling the all nighter, I mean." She asked, a shadow of worry shone on her face. Did this mean she cared? "It was great, Sirius and I watched a shit load of movies-"

"You watched what? Movies? But you're a-"

"A wizard, yeah. My parents are fascinated by that muggle stuff so we got a toaster and some other cool things. I really don't know how to use them, but they're really really neat." He knew he was rambling on but Lily looked shocked at this, this made James laugh. "No way! I'd never have guessed that you had ever used anything muggle related." She said, still looking aghast.

"Well I charmed that shiny ball, didn't I? Quite proud of that actually."

"It's a good work of magic, Professor Flitwick would agree." She said and James smiled. They stayed like this for a few moments, smiling at each other. Her smile was stunning, she had dimples on her pale freckled cheeks, which crinkled up into her emerald eyes that sparkled. She had really complimented his magic, the brightest witch in their year had just told him he did something well.

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Lily lay in her bed after going upstairs and finding the dorm empty. There was only one thing that was occupying her mind, and that thing was James Potter. She had sat and had a conversation with him that didn't end in screaming. He had changed over the summer, that was no question. But had she? He had matured, but she didn't feel the normal hatred for him she felt every day since she started Hogwarts. This had to have meant that there was something different in not just him, but her as well.

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"No seriously, I'm not kidding Padfoot. I talked to her! I talked to Lily Evans without her hexing me!" James flopped down on his bed, staring at the ceiling happily while Sirius wrote a letter to Marlene. "I believe you Prongs, but you _know_ she doesn't like you." He said, sighing. James really didn't need the constant reminder.

"I know, I know. But what if something changed and she realised I'm not the prat I was last year? What would I do then? Would I ask her out? For real?" He sat up at this last statement and stared at Sirius' back, for he was sitting at his desk on the opposite side of the room. Sirius didn't answer because he knew this was just James wondering aloud.

If Lily Evans _did_ start liking him back, he would be ecstatic. But, he couldn't get his hopes up, it wouldn't end well. But it was the first time he had hope in this topic, he deserved to bask in this.

He couldn't remember _why_ he started liking her, well he knew why he liked her, but he didn't know what sold him on liking her. She had been mean and spiteful to him since they first met, but maybe he found charm in her feisty temper, maybe he liked how she knew just how to use her words. He knew this wasn't all to her, he had seen her laughing with Marlene and Alice, joking around with Remus and cheering Snivellus up. He knew there was a deeper, more vulnerable side to her. He had seen this side only once. He had been walking down the corridor in their Fifth Year when he heard someone breathing around the corner, so he had gone to see who it was out of curiosity. Lily was sitting on the bottom most step with her face in both of her hands, and her hair cascading down from her usual high ponytail. But this wasn't what stuck out to James, it was the fact that she was uncontrollably shaking and crying. She had looked up at the sound of his footsteps and gasped, she stood up immediately and wiped her eyes in attempt to hide the fact that tears had been pouring down her face. She had snatched up her book bag, which was laying sprawled next to her. "One step closer Potter, and I'll hex you." She had snarled, drawing her wand out from her skirt pocket. "Please, I'm not going to hurt you Lily. Just please, please tell me what's wrong." He'd pleaded. She hesitated, her still-wet eyes gazed into his. "Severus and I had a fight." She managed to choke out, before breaking down into fresh, new tears. James put his hand on her arm and said softly "Hey, please tell me how I can help. I hate seeing you like this." She simply just shook her head and said she needed to get to class.

Seeing her cry didn't change anything, he still thought she was beautiful.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey lovelies! I hope you guys are enjoying the story! I just writing the next chapter and I'm super super excited for it! xx_

Lily sat in the library, her books and pens sprawled all over the table, her head bent low to watch the words her hand was writing.

It had been two months since the start of term. Two months since she had had that conversation with James Potter. This hadn't meant she didn't talk to him in that time period of two months, she had jerked her head at him when he walked past, saying "Potter". But this was all. She also found that she looked at him more. She would catch herself looking at him in classes, during meals and in the common room.

But this wasn't what her mind was on at the moment, she was thinking about the fact that she would be alone over the winter break. Break started the day after, and every one of the Sixth Years were going home, except for Lily. She had chosen to stay because of two reasons. The first was her sister, Lily didn't want to spend another moment with her. The second was the fact that she wanted to see Hogwarts during Christmas. She had never stayed over the holidays, which resulted in the lack of seeing Hogwarts in it's peak time. But she would have no one to see this glory with. Everyone had gone the day before, Marlene went home to her family and Alice had gone to Switzerland with her cousins to go skiing (She had asked Lily what this was and laughed uproariously when she heard that it was a sport that consisted of sliding down a snowy hill with wood attached to your shoes.).

She couldn't help feeling dismayed at this, but she borrowed many books from the Library, in hope that they would keep her occupied for most of the holiday.

She was so deep in thought, she didn't hear the door opening and footsteps coming towards her. "Mind if I join you?" A voice said. Lily jumped and looked up. It was James.

"No, not at all." But then her brow furrowed. "I thought you would've gone home for Christmas."

"No, my parents decided they wanted nought to do with us over the break, because Sirius and I annoyed them so much over the summer. So they went for a romantic getaway in Paris." He smiled as he said this, as if it was to be expected. Lily nodded thoughtfully at this. He sat down opposite her and took out a book and started reading. Lily went back to her notes and continued scribbling.

A half hour later, she noticed him take out a sketchbook and conjure a brush and paints. "You paint, Potter?" She said in astonishment. She'd never thought James Potter was an artist. He grinned and didn't respond. There seemed to be more depth to Potter than she had ever knew or saw.

"WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE DOING. THE LIBRARY WAS CLOSED ONE HOUR AGO. GET OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT." The librarian came bustling into the room screaming, making them jump and yell apologies over her. They hastily packed up their things and scrambled out.

When they got outside Lily turned to James, "What a charming lady." James said, before she could open her mouth. Lily laughed, he really was hilarious. "She is quite the charmer. I suppose we should head back to the common room, it is quite late." He nodded in agreement.

They set off in a comfortable silence, with only the sound of their footsteps until they reached the portrait. James said the password, "After you m'lady." He said, taking a bow and holding out a hand as the door swung open. Lily laughed and took his hand, he helped her into the common room with a small smile. The fire in the fireplace had long since died down, the remaining embers giving the already scarlet room a red glow. "Well, I'm going to head up to my dorm. G'night Potter."

She took one step up the stone staircase, "Wait, Evans." He caught her wrist before she could go any further up the stairs. He pulled her until she was standing right across from him, only inches apart. "I- well- here." He said, giving her a small folded up piece of paper. "I hope you like it." Lily unfolded it carefully. It was a painting. But not just any painting, it was a portrait of her. It was beautiful. "Oh goodness, thank you. It's beautiful." She stammered, overwhelmed by this gesture. The picture was of her head resting in her hand, her face looked relaxed as she wrote. But he did something to make her look more beautiful than she actually was, maybe her eyes looked more intelligent, her hair looked darker and thicker and her freckles looked more as if they had been dotted and less splayed on. The painting was intricate and amazing, he was so talented.

"Do you? Do you like it?" He said, hazel meeting emerald. He was so close, he could reach down and kiss her at any moment. Hell, she _wanted_ him to reach down and kiss her. She nodded, hoping that this would tell him that she was begging for him to reach down and plant his lips on hers.

But it didn't, he straightened up and cleared his throat. "Well, night then. I'll see you tomorrow, Lily." He smiled at this name.

"Night, James." She said this hesitantly, reason one being the fact that she'd never called him by his first name before and the second was the now abandoned chance of him kissing her. They went their separate ways at this.

XXX

"I can't believe I didn't kiss her!" James buried his face in his hands after he threw his glasses on his bedside table. "Padfoot?" He said when he didn't get an answer. He looked up and found that Sirius had fallen asleep with his mouth hanging wide open, after James had come upstairs. James groaned, Sirius was the only person in the dorm at the moment because Peter and Remus had both gone home for the holidays. So this meant he didn't have anyone to confide in. He didn't have anything else to do so he started undressing and getting ready for bed. The image of her tranquility as she wrote flashed into his head, he'd ached so much to draw her, so much that he had tried to inconspicuously paint her (this had failed). But it seemed like she had liked the drawing, and holy shit, she really was gorgeous. He had had the chance to kiss her so many times, but hadn't taken any of those opportunities.

Why? He didn't want to scare her off, it was tempting to kiss her. All he wanted to do was to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight. But he knew he couldn't do this without knowing that she felt the same. And that was what really puzzled him, did she like him back? He had sworn he saw flashes of something in her eyes, but he didn't know if he was just imagining this or if it was actually real. He sunk into his bed and sighed, it was too complicated and frustrating.

XXX

Lily awoke the next morning in an unusual happy state. It was unusual because she definitely was not a morning person. She swung her heavily fluffy sock-clad feet over to the side of her bed and took her hair down from her nightly bun. She shook her head to loosen out the curls, she didn't bother to put it up into a ponytail because she knew there was no one to see her untidiness. She put on a pair of black leggings and a yellow turtleneck that clashed horribly with her hair, she took no notice of this as she went downstairs for breakfast.

Lily saw James and Sirius sitting in the Great Hall, so she went and joined them.

"Morning, Sunshine." James said, as if in response to her jumper. Lily smiled and greeted them. "Bloody hell, I'll be late for my detention. I've got to run you lovebirds! Ta ta!" Sirius yelped, running out of the hall. "Detention? It's the holiday! And it's half eight!" She knew she shouldn't be surprised since it was Sirius they were dealing with, but _still_.

"Well, I mean it's _Sirius_. Are you really surprised?" James said, taking the words right out from her head as if he read her mind. Lily laughed and helped herself to some eggs.

When they finished breakfast they sat in the common room, James sketching an owl and Lily reading a Charms book. "Say, Sunshine would you care for a nice hot Jacuzzi?"

"A _what_ , sorry?" Was he talking about a hot tub?

"In the Prefect bathroom they have a big tub, Sirius and I were thinking of inviting some fellow Sixth Years and maybe Fifths to take a dip. Do you want to come?" He looked hopefully at her. Usually, this was something Lily avoided but it _was_ almost Christmas.

"When is it?" She said skeptically.

"Tonight at 5:30."

Damn, he had puppy dog eyes.

"Dress code?" She joked.

A smile broke across his face. Damn he really was attractive.

"Casual attire; swimsuits and flip flops." He said, keeping up the joke.

"I'll be there."

XXX

"I'll be there." She said smiling. James couldn't feel more happy.

XXX

James flung his towel over his shoulder. "Padfoot! Move your ass, it's 5:00." He wanted to be early so that he could have the room to himself for awhile. "You head there first, I'll be right behind you." James grunted in response and headed out.

James said the password for the bathroom and the door swung open. He knew the password because of the fact he had persuaded Moony to tell him. He put down his towel on a white table and surveyed the room. It was an airy room that had a white marble floor and walls, there was a large hot tub set into the ground on the right and a set of covered showers on the left, and all around the room there were paintings of mermaids and vase after vase of white roses. It was a beautiful room.

He heard the door creak behind him and he turned around, it was Lily.

"Oh, Hi. Am I early? I just thought- I can go if- Wow, this room is stunning." She said, all in one breath. She looked around the room, taking in everything. "No, no. You're not early, it's all good. I just thought I'd take a dip before everyone else arrived, care to join me?" He gestured to the pool. "Sure." She put down her towel next to his and took off her white wrap around swimsuit cover up to reveal a black bikini. James tried not to gawp at her pale slim legs and torso, but she was so utterly gorgeous he couldn't help himself. She was an utter goddess. He felt a tingly feeling through his body as she folded the dress.

XXX

Lily could feel James' eyes on her as she put her cover up on her towel, she felt her cheeks burn. She didn't know if this was a good or bad thing. She looked up to see him taking off his shirt, it seemed that he had swimming trunks on already.

Holy Merlin, James Potter was fit. He had a six-pack that she knew was because of the fact he played Quidditch. He had busting biceps that followed the exact same reason. He was lowering himself into the tub as she joined him, doing the exact same thing. "I know I'm a Prefect and all, but I don't think I've ever been in here, it's fantastic." She said, trying to make conversation.

He smiled "Yeah, it is. But you know what would make this hot tub better?" Lily tried to avoid looking at his chest. "What?"

"Pink bubbles." Lily laughed.

"No, seriously. Look!" He conjured a mass of bubbly pink into the steaming tub.

Lily shook her head in the midst of her laughter, "How do you always find a way to make things fun?"

He splashed her lightly in mock anger, "I thought you were having fun already?". Lily squealed and splashed him back, "You wish, James."  
He smiled, "Of course I do, Sunshine." She felt heat creeping up to her cheeks.

"YOOOO WHAT'S UPPPPP LOVEBIRDSS." Sirius yelled, striding into the room followed by some other Sixth Years by the names of Emmeline Vance, Dirk Cresswell, Frank Longbottom, Hestia Jones and Dorcas Meadowes. Lily greeted them sheepishly while James bantered lightly with the lot as they got into the pool with them.


	5. Chapter 5

_Happy Christmas everyone! Sorry this is a short chapter but I wanted it all to be in one chapter. Hope you enjoy! ;)_

Lily sat on the couch in the common room, twiddling her thumbs. Not because she was bored, but because she was apprehensive. James had asked her to meet him in the common room when they had left the Prefect bathroom. Now she was waiting for him, nervous for why he had wanted to talk to her.

Right on cue he bounded down the stairs boyishly, smiling when he saw her. She observed his black shirt and grey sweatpants (that hung low on his hips, making her face to heat up profusely). She suddenly felt self conscious in her cotton shorts that she would never wear out of bed and tank top. "Hey, thanks for coming down." He said softly, making her smile at his politeness.

"My pleasure, anyways I had nothing better to do." This made him smile in return and display a show of mock offense. He sat down to her right and sighed. "Look, you're probably wondering why I asked you to meet me, but I just wanted to say sorry if I kind of forced you to come with to the hot tub, I know I should've been more clear to say you didn't have to if you didn't want to." Lily didn't know what to say at this. She had been so nervous just for this? That slightly disappointed her in the fact that she had gotten so worked up. "No, I really did want to come. I promise." James' expression perked up at this and he propped his left leg up on the sofa so that he faced her. "Really?"

"Really."

He looked relieved and smiled. "Well, now that that's cleared up I feel a lot better."

They fell silent for a moment and then James spoke again. "Hey, now that we're down here, why don't we play a game or something? What about we get to know each other better?"

"Sure, that sounds great. You start." Lily crossed her legs on the couch and faced him.

"Hm. Okay I got one, what's something that annoys you?" She thought about it for a moment. "Morning people." James laughed.

"Your turn, Sunshine."

"If you were to be an animal, what would you be?"

He didn't even hesitate. "A stag. Sock Sock Shoe Shoe or Sock Shoe Sock Shoe?"

"Sock Sock Shoe Shoe, anything other than that is animalistic." They both laughed.

"If you were to change one thing one thing about yourself, what would it be?" She continued.

"I'd take my glasses away, I hate them. Always getting in the way of Quidditch." She frowned. "I like them, they're nice." He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, as if he were figuring something out, then said his question.

"What do you look for in a partner?" Lily was taken aback by this sudden personal question. She thought about it for a moment and replied. "Trust, chemistry and sense of humour." He repeated the same thoughtful expression.

She felt obliged to continue the same topic.

"Do looks matter more or personality?" He answered this one quickly again. "Personality, one hundred percent." Lily inwardly agreed with this.

His forehead creased as he tried to think of a new question. Then, his face lit up into a smirk. "Who do you fancy?"

"I can't tell you that!"

"You have to, it's a rule."

"Says who?" Lily said, crossing her arms defensively.

"Says me. Come on, you have to answer! Please?" He pouted. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Tell you what, I'll tell you first if you promise to tell me." He plead.

"Who said I wanted to know who you fancy, Potter?" But she did want to know, really really badly.

"Pleaseeeee? Do it for me, Sunshine." She softened at the pet name and gave in. James perked up and then looked serious. "Promise not to freak out?"

"Promise."

"It's you."

What. In. The. Name. Of. Merlin.

"I'm sorry, what?" She looked at him in disbelief.

"I like you Lily."

"But how?" She persisted.

"Your turn, come on."

Who did she like? Why had she agreed to do this? She didn't feel anything for any boy. Except she felt different around James. She had never felt anything like it before. Oh lord, did she like James Potter? It had to be. But she couldn't let him find out so easily. She wouldn't let him find out so easily.

"Guess."

"Oh fine, but you promise to tell me if I get it?"

"Promise."

"Snape?"

"No."

"Sirius?"

"Pfft, no."

"Remus?"

"Too much like a brother."

"I know what you mean. Peter?"

"Hah, no."

"Frank?"

"I'm not that disloyal to Alice."

He looked stumped for a moment. "They're in Gryffindor, right?"

She nodded.

"It is a boy, right? If it's not that's totally cool, I'm t-"

"It's a boy." She cut in.

His brow furrowed as he thought for a moment, then he bit his lip. Lily's breath got caught in her throat for a moment at this.

"Could it possibly be me?" He said after a long moment of hesitation that looked as if he was deciding whether it should be said out loud.

Oh bloody Merlin.

"Maybe it could." She breathed, not believing her own ears. She saw his eyes flicker.

"Lily, I-" He said breathily. And then he kissed her.

The kiss was soft and gentle, as soon as their lips met, they left. When they pulled back, both of their faces bore looks of astonishment at what they had just done. "Oh Merlin." He breathed, surveying her to try and read her expression. She felt a gazillion pixies flying around in her stomach. She smiled, showing her excitement.

He seemed to have seen this as a green light to make another move. He leaned in again and his lips pressed onto hers.

This time there wasn't any timidness or feelings being held back. Her lips tasted sweet as they settled into a rhythm. She could feel him smiling in between kisses and she felt exactly the same.


	6. Chapter 6

_Hello everyone! Happy New Year! I'm sosososo sorry I haven't updated in ages, I've been so busy with my GCSE prep (it's like SATs for you Americans, correct me if I got that wrong though) and I haven't had enough time to do a bunch of writing. But I've been fitting writing this into the crooks and crannies (like writing on the bus back home). I hope you enjoy! xx_

Lily smiled in her sleep. She was having a dream. The dream included a boy that wore a cheeky smirk. A boy that had perfectly tousled hair. A boy that played Quidditch and who's secret passion was to paint portraits. The boy in her dream flashed her his famous smile. She reached her hand out as if to try and touch him, as her hand grazed his forearm everything flashed.

She awoke to sunlight streaming through the dorm window, casting a spell of tranquility on the room as the figures of Mary MacDonald, Hestia Jones and Dorcas Meadowes slept.

Lily sat up and yawned. The day before had been quite, well, a day. She rubbed her eyes and allowed her mind to mill over the events of the previous day.

She had kissed James Potter. Not once, but twice. And she'd liked it.

She expected that statement to feel dirty in her mind but it didn't.

He'd said he liked her, and she had said it back. She was quite sure he'd meant it. But what if he didn't? He must've said this to countless other girls, no doubt. He had most likely cast his charming spell over them and lead them on. But he'd seemed so genuine that she couldn't picture it. She pushed this thought to the back of her mind and went about her morning routine. Cleansing her face in the sink, throwing on a pair of jeans, a white hoodie and a pair of trainers and went downstairs for breakfast.

When she got down to the common room she found James and Sirius coming down the stairs from the boy's dorm.

"Morning, lads." She said, brightly.

"Morning, Lils." They chorused back, with Sirius' eyes flickering back and forth between the pair. She didn't find this suspicious at all as she assumed that James had given him a detailed recap of the previous night's events.

"Shall we head down?" She suggested without wanting an answer.

The two boys nodded their heads and made their way to the portrait hole in response, with James falling slightly behind to walk with her.

They sat down at the Gryffindor table with Sirius sitting across from Lily and James. "Bloody idiots, I feel like a third wheel." Sirius commented with a smirk.

"Oh fuck off, Black." Lily responded, kicking his shins from underneath the table as James laughed at Sirius' yelps.

When they'd finished breakfast they were walking up the stairs to the common room when James looked out the window. "Oh Merlin, it's beautiful outside. Fancy a walk, Sunshine?"

Two hours later Lily was running down the stairs to meet James in the Entrance Hall.

He was leaning on the bottom banister, running his hand through his hair. He was wearing a black puff jacket, jeans that sat snugly on his hips (this made Lily take a sharp intake of breath), a maroon beanie and his feet were clad with a battered looking pair of Converse.

Lily inwardly sighed in how effortlessly cool he could with only wearing a few simple items of clothing.

His face split into a smile when he saw her. "Hey Sunshine."

"When will you call me by my actual name?" She greeted.

He merely kept smiling at this response.

"Shall we?" He jerked his head at the doors.

"We shall."

The grounds were beautiful. Fine snow covered the better parts of the grounds like a glossy sheen, the lake was frozen over, giving it a good resemblance to a mirror and there was not a single movement to be seen anywhere.

They set off at a good pace on a stone path that had been shovelled clear of snow. As they were walking on James whistled a tune that Lily soon recognised.

"Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes." She sang quietly. He kept on whistling.

"Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes" She coaxed subtly, her voice growing a notch louder.

"Silver-white winters that melt into springs" This seemed to get him.

"These are a few of my favourite things." They sang loudly, terribly off-key together.

James flung his arms out. "When the dogs bite."

"When the bees sting." She laughed.

"When I'm feeling sad." He clutched his heart in mock despair.

"I simply remember my favourite things, and then I don't feel so bad." They yelled this last sentence out together. A few birds in a nearby tree flew out. They laughed together at this.

"That's my mum's favourite musical." Lily said.

"Well then, your mum and I should meet. We'd be great friends." He replied, with a twinkle in his eye.

They walked in silence for a few minutes when-

"Lily-"

"James-" They had turned their heads and spoken at the exact same time and stopped walking.

"Jinx!" Lily screamed. She felt her whole face burn up. That wasn't even right.

"You go first." He ignored her mishap.

"Well-" She didn't know how to put her thoughts into words. Did he really mean to kiss her last night? "Do- I- uh-shit- what t- oh fuck-" She laughed in spite of herself and buried her face in her hands. "Sorry, I'm so bad at this. I just-"

"Oh, whatever." James chortled and kissed her.

XXX

He cupped her face with his hand and ran his other hand through her hair. He had been waiting to kiss her since they had started walking. She had just looked so cute stumbling over her words that he couldn't resist anymore.

He pulled away and let out a satisfied sigh. He looked down at Lily to see that she was observing him with her green eyes. She looked very pretty, her cheeks were flushed from the cold, her loose waves (that she had chosen to keep down) had little flecks of snow in it and her eyes sparkled with happiness. She smiled, crinkles by her eyes and dimples on her cheeks forming.

"Today's a good day. I can feel it." He chose not to say anything to this.

"Did you know that you blink every time you swear?" He decided to comment. She seemed thrown off-guard by the quick change of subject but recovered quickly.

"Are you saying that I swear?" She said, her eyes narrowing in bemusement and her head cocking to the side.

"Like a sailor." He straightened up and turned so that he faced the inviting snowy plains.

"What do you say about walking to the Practice Field?" Gesturing to a fenced off piece of land, he smiled cheekily. "I'll race you."

Lily groaned. "My feet are so tired, and I'm so cold. Can we walk back to the castle? Please?" She plead. He gave in grudgingly, but perked up as an idea sprung to his mind.

"Let me carry you back, since you're tired." He crouched down (with being 6ft tall and her being 5'3, this was necessary). He felt her climb onto his back and twined his arms around her legs to give her support. He stood up, she was really quite light.

"Thank you." She whispered and slung her arms over his shoulders and resting her head on the crook of his neck and breathing in the smell of him. No cologne could mask the smell of warm teenage boy. It wasn't a sweaty smell that she would have imagined he smelled like a few months ago. It was a comforting scent that was detected as faint, mingled cinnamon and coconut.

He walked on steadily, seemingly not weighed down by her. She silently marvelled at his strength. They laughed and joked the whole way.

No longer than 15 minutes later they got back to the castle.

Lily got off reluctantly, she had been quite comfortable on his back.

He found her gloved hand as they walked back into the Entrance Hall. Her heart fluttered as she felt his warm hand pressed to hers. She was content.

XXX

Snow had been falling for days, the grounds had been covered by a white sheet, mistletoe hung on doorways (James had whipped around every time they passed through any door, kissing Lily after going "Ah! Mistletoe again! Must be my lucky day after all."). Although it was freezing out on the grounds, the castle interior had been quite toasty due to Dumbledore's expertise in magic.

They were walking through Hogsmeade, hand in hand. Lily kept stopping outside stationary stores to find a quill she wanted in the window display, making James groan in annoyance.

After the seventh time this happened he finally said something. "Look, I'll let you wander around by yourself while I get Christmas presents for my parents." She waved him off, distracted by an elegant purple quill.

A good 30 minutes later she was wandering around the crowded snowy streets again. She decided to go into an art store. The bell jangled as she walked into the crowded, warm store, making the lady at the desk smile at her after lifting her head up from some paperwork. Lily returned this smile and started looking around.

There were paintings of Nifflers and Kneazles in hats with pom poms, huge enchanted paint brushes that could paint whatever you told them to, pots of colour changing paint and books of artwork. The latter was what drew Lily to it, she rifled through each shelf, pulling one out if the title interested her. She came across a big maroon book titled _Famous Quidditch Players Year by Year._ She paused and drew it out, inside were intricate paintings of men and women dressed in Quidditch uniforms on brooms and some team paintings. The ones that weren't soaring through the air smiled and waved up at her. There were paragraphs about the players under each photo, some had famous quotes and achievements.

This would be perfect for James. Her forehead creased, what if she only got him a present and he would feel bad that he hadn't gotten her anything. But if this was vice versa, she would feel terrible.

She pushed her pride away and walked to the counter defiantly.

"Would you like me to wrap it up, love?" The lady at the desk said. She had soft and warm features, brown eyes, sandy brown greying hair that was tied back to show off her jangling gold hoops.

"That would be great, thanks." Lily replied, relieved that she wouldn't have to display her terrible gift wrapping to James. The lady wrapped the book up in plain black wrapping paper and took out a name tag.

"Who should I address this to?" She asked, dipping her quill in ink.

"James. From Lily."

The lady wrote this down. "Who is this James? Boyfriend? Brother?"

Lily flushed, she really didn't know what they were. She knew that they had kissed a few times, and that had to mean something. Maybe not to him but it did with her. This had been bothering her for the past few days but now she had finally acknowledged it.

"Friend." She said, deciding push this to the back of her mind. It was Christmas, she didn't need to worry about it.

"Well whoever he is, he had very good taste. Books and women." She winked as she wrote his name down on the present. At that very moment the bell jangled and James stepped into the store, stomping his boots on the mat.

"Lily! I'd wondered where you'd gone!" He came over and put his arm around her, kissing her forehead. When he did this the shop lady mouthed, "Friend?". Lily gave a smile.

"That'll be five Galleons and eleven Sickles."

"Let me pay." James drew out his money bag but Lily put her hand on his that was holding the bag.

"I'm paying, you'll see why soon." She paid and the lady put the present into a bag.

As they were heading out of the store the woman caught her sleeve and whispered into her ear. "You'd better be careful with that one, he has a butt all the gals go crazy for." Lily bade her goodbye and a Merry Christmas after laughing, and strode over to where James was standing by the door.

"What did she say to you?" Lily laughed and put on her white beanie, stepping into the cold air.

"You'd like to know."

"Oh please, I can read you like an open book. Was she commenting on my luscious locks? Dazzling eyes?" He put on a mock pompous manner and strode with his chest thrown out.

"If it was, I still wouldn't tell you." She grinned and linked arms with him.

He kissed her nose lightly and set off back to the castle.


End file.
